Clouds of Sils Maria

At the peak of her international career, Maria Enders is asked to perform in a revival of the play that made her famous twenty years ago. Back then she played the role of an alluring young girl but now she is being asked to step into the older role. With her assistant Maria prepares to play opposite a young Hollywood starlet and finds herself on the other side of the mirror, face to face with an unsettling reflection of herself.

This is one talky film, with a plot-within-plot kind of twist. Some good editing would improve the film's flow a lot. Watchable but not great. One bonus is you get to see some scenery of the Swiss Alps.

I found this film totally fascinating. Deep philosophically and emotionally. Complex characters and very rich in scenery and dialogue. I think age and maturity as a woman help me understand and appreciate this film. As one critic here points out, her assistant disappears and this is never explained or satisfactorily dealt with. That's sometimes how life is. But also, in the movie, a hint to the meaning was contained in the assistant's argument earlier that a character "doesn't have to die...she may just disappear and re-invent herself." I think the assistant leaves because her job has become too emotionally draining and she is emotionally enmeshed with Maria... and there are many sexual innuendos between them which she perhaps cannot handle.

There is a major plot hole when Kristen Stewart's character disappears in the alps - with NO explanation given later on in the film.
Why does the library have 33 copies of this DVD? 1 or 2 would be sufficient.

ravenheart
Apr 26, 2016

This is definitely more of an art film, and I suspect only only a very small segment of viewers will enjoy it. Fans of Binoche's work will likely find this far more interesting than fans of Stewart or Moretz will. It's fairly abstract, dry, and meandering, and although the actors do a good job, it never really pays off in any kind of satisfying way by the end. This script exemplifies a lazy way of writing which indulges the interests of the writer too much, without considering the audience enough. , In hindsight, I wouldn't have bothered to watch it.

Well-intentioned, but stagey drama about a capital "A" Actress aging out of the desirable ingenue roles, and what that means to her self-image. The theme hit close to home, but was too ineptly handled to be moving. Wish I could give Juliette Binoche all the stars -- she could act with a broom handle. Speaking of which, Kristen Stewart's in it.

Quotes

SPOILER ALERT:
Maria: I read your script.
Young Filmmaker: ... I actually wrote it with you in mind.
Maria: As a mutant?
Filmmaker: I'm trying to consider genetics from a more human point of view.
Maria: When I was reading it, I imagined someone much younger...you were seeing me in movies that were made years ago, I...I've changed. ....Can I be frank? Maybe because I'm working with her, but...as I was reading it, I... I kept thinking about Jo-Ann.... she's smart, and talented. She's modern, just like your character.
Filmmaker: My character isn't modern, not in that way, anyway. She's... outside of time.
Maria: "Outside of time." I don't understand, it's too abstract for me, sorry.
Filmmaker: I don't like this era.
Maria: You're wrong, it's yours.
Filmmaker: Hey, man, I didn't choose it. And if my era is Jo-Ann Ellis and viral internet scandals, I think I'm entitled to feel unrelated, aren't I? I mean, it's nothing against her, I guess I just assumed you'd understand.

Maria: "Excel and to know how to show it, is to be excelled twice." Baltasar Gracian said that.
Valentine: I have no idea who that is, but he was right.
===
Valentine: At 20, you saw Sigrid's ambition and you saw her violence because you felt this in yourself.
Maria: So?
Valentine: So, what I'm saying... it...this text is like an object. it's gonna change perspective based on where you're standing.
===
Jo-Ann: Well, no one really gives a freak about Helena at that point, do they? I'm sorry, but, I mean, it's pretty clear to me, this poor woman's all washed up. I mean your character, right, not you? When Sigrid leaves Helena's office, Helena's a wreck, and we get it, ya know, it time to move on. I think they want what comes next.

Maria: Honestly, you don't find this ridiculous?
Valentine: Why, because she speaks brutally?
Maria: No, because it's phony, I don't believe it.
Valentine: So you don't think people can be blinded by their own emotions?
Maria: Yes, I do, but not to that extent. Too theoretical. Even a little stupid.
Valentine: It's theater. It's an interpretation of life that can be truer than life itself.
===
Valentine: Well, don't you want to get that innocence back?
Maria: You can't get innocent twice.
Valentine: You can. If you just accepted Helena the way you accepted Sigrid.